Konstfack's Design Anima puts traditional craft back in the spotlight

One of the other great things about being in Milan this week is how many old friends you get to run into. The guys at Konstfack (arguably Sweden’s most prestigious design school) have visited us in London a couple of times, but we never get to see their work outside of paper portfolios. At their Milan show Design Anima, we got a chance to spend some time with them and have a proper look at the incredible quality of their work.

As you’d expect from an institution that’s home to such a broad variety of disciplines, there’s a terrific variety of skill on display, from Hannah Waldron’s beautiful, graphic weaves to Tobias Gutmann’s eccentric illustration booth Face-O-Mat and Pål Rodenius’ exceptional flat-pack Dhurrie Chair, but each practitioner has come together as a collective to produce work that deals specifically with the rejection of mass-production and speedy consumption in favour of traditional craft.

Konstfack’s Head of Exhibition, Ikko Yokoyama explains: “Through the process of craft and critical thinking, they try to reach the unconscious soul of the design – the Anima. This working/thinking method of craft has a timely relevance to tackle our contemporary questions…”.

You can see Design Anima at the Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello until April 14.